BDO 'will not become' Big Fifth

News Article - 12 November 2007
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The newly appointed head of BDO International has publicly announced its intentions to challenge the Big Four.

Reported in the Financial Times, Jeremy Newman, currently managing partner of BDO Stoy Hayward, said it is a "credible challenger" to the four main accounting firms and that simply "becoming the Big Fifth would be a sign of failure".

He commented: "Being a credible alternative doesn't mean being the same. There's no doubt the Big Four are essentially global corporations driven out of head offices. We're more adapted to the local market."

According to the newspaper, a fifth alternative would be welcomed by the industry as regulators have expressed concern that if one of the Big Four pulled out, the capital markets would be in turmoil.

BDO has 600 offices in around 100 countries and recently took over from Deloitte to become the primary adviser to the Law Society until 2009, reports Legalweek.com.

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